Living with Bariatric Surgery: A Conversation with Author Denise Ratcliffe, DClinPsych

In this episode I speak with the wonderful Denise Ratcliffe, DClinPsych. Dr Ratcliffe is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist based in London, United Kingdom. Since 2007, she has specialized in helping people with the psychological issues that may arise before and after bariatric surgery. I invited her on the podcast because she has recently published a book titled, Living with Bariatric Surgery, Managing Your Mind and Your Weight. This is an important book that I wanted to highlight on the podcast because it is filled with helpful insight and great wisdom regarding some of the emotional challenges people can confront before and after bariatric surgery. Throughout the book Dr Ratcliffe offers reality-based tips and strategies to help people overcome those challenges. 

Discussed in This Episode:

• Become a podcast patron at either Patreon or Paypal
• Why Dr Ratcliffe felt the need to write this book.
• Bariatric surgery can be an emotionally trigging event for people.
• Things to consider prior to bariatric surgery.
• What are some common thinking traps that may influence a person’s eating habits.
• How do people start to redirect those thoughts.
• What are some practical strategies people can begin today that can help reinforce healthier eating habits.
• What are the Golden Rules for Eating.
• We all have an emotional relationship to food but sometimes this relationship can become unhealthy.  
• The Cycle of Emotional Eating.
• Tips to help a person break the cycle of emotional eating.
• What is Anticipatory Mourning.
• Creating a Memory-Bank for the future.
• Early post-op dip in mood.
• Some common worries that people can have related to their weight in the first few months after surgery and how best can they address these.
• The three ways we have a relationship with food: Psychological, Behavioral, and Environmental and how these relationships impact our decision-making.
• When should people be on the lookout for eating and behavioral problems after bariatric surgery and what can people do to address them.
• The two times people can be most vulnerable to emotional difficulties after bariatric surgery.
• The ways in which low self-esteem and lack of confidence can impact a person after bariatric surgery and what are some tactical things people can do to boost-up self-esteem and build up their confidence.
• What are “Thinking Habits” and how can they influence a person’s decision making.
• Why is physical activity important after bariatric surgery.
• Body image is about how you see yourself and how you feel about yourself.
• Strategies people can do to improve their body image.
• Relationships can change after bariatric surgery, and not always the way we anticipate.
• How to manage weight loss expectations and weight regain.
• What are some habits of successful weight loss maintainers.
• Dr Ratcliffe’s concluding thoughts.   
• Reeger's concluding thoughts.